Party Chat Or Party Cheat?

I detest the ‘Party Chatting’ system in Xbox Live with a fervor! I could never understand why we really need party chat to begin with, life was fine before it. I guess I could see it were being for watching the same movie via Netflix streaming with your friends. What it has turned out  to be though, is the best way for you and your friends to cheat. Why do I say this is primarily used for cheating? Let me give you an example: You and your friends are playing ‘Call of Duty: World At War’ you have dead silence and camouflage on, you sneak up and knife somebody on the opposing team. All of a sudden 10 seconds later a grenade comes bouncing in at your feet, it goes off and your dead.  Now you didn’t give away your position nor did your opponent notify his teammates where he was before he died. What happened was that the entire opposing team is in party chat and the guy you just killed told his teammates exactly where you are from his grave. Now how fair is that and there is no way to prevent that from happening.
Now here is another example of why this sucks so much, your team has eliminated everyone on the other team except one or two players. Again you are using camouflage and dead silence, so you can’t be seen on radar nor heard. You find one of your opponents and you sneak up on him then all of a sudden he does a 180 a starts firing before the turn is even finished and your laying dead on the floor. How did he know you were behind him? Because one of his dead teammates is watching his back in essence giving him eyes in the back of his head. This is so rampant that players now jump into the lobby of a game and ask if anyone is in private chat. If no one answers guess what you back out.
Here is another annoying scenario, you and a couple of buddies jump on to play together but you don’t have enough to form a full squad. No problem you get teamed up with another couple of players randomly here is where it really sucks. They are in private chat with themselves. So you can’t talk to them, warn them or discuss any strategy. They are in their own little world and could care less about anything except themselves.
Why can’t Microsoft just disable ‘Party Chat’ for any online matchmaking games i.e. Call of Duty, Halo or any other FPS? These games have built in systems for team communications and nothing else is needed. So why do they let this run rampant? All it does is ruin the experience for those that would like to play and have a good time with their friends. Come on Microsoft get with the program you can’t be that dense or can you?

Xbox360 Wireless HeadsetI detest the ‘Party Chatting’ system in Xbox Live with a fervor! I could never understand why we really need party chat to begin with, life was fine before it. I guess I could see it if it were being used for watching the same movie via Netflix streaming with your friends. What it has turned out  to be though, is the best way for you and your friends to cheat. Why do I say this is primarily used for cheating? Let me give you an example: You and your friends are playing ‘Call of Duty: World At War’ you have dead silence and camouflage on, you sneak up and knife somebody on the opposing team. All of a sudden 10 seconds later a grenade comes bouncing in at your feet, it goes off and your dead.  Now you didn’t give away your position nor did your opponent notify his teammates where he was before he died. What happened was that the entire opposing team is in party chat and the guy you just killed told his teammates exactly where you are from his grave. Now how fair is that and there is no way to prevent that from happening.
Now here is another example of why this sucks so much, your team has eliminated everyone on the other team except one or two players. Again you are using camouflage and dead silence, so you can’t be seen on radar nor heard. You find one of your opponents and you sneak up on him then all of a sudden he does a 180 and starts firing before the turn is even finished and your laying dead on the floor. How did he know you were behind him? Because one of his dead teammates is watching his back in essence giving him eyes in the back of his head. This is so rampant that players now jump into the lobby of a game and ask if anyone is in private chat. If no one answers guess what you back out.
Here is another annoying scenario, you and a couple of buddies jump on to play together but you don’t have enough to form a full squad. No problem you get teamed up with another couple of players randomly here is where it really sucks. They are in private chat with themselves. So you can’t talk to them, warn them or discuss any strategy. They are in their own little world and could care less about anything except themselves.
Why can’t Microsoft just disable ‘Party Chat’ for any online matchmaking games i.e. Call of Duty, Halo or any other FPS? These games have built in systems for team communications and nothing else is needed. So why do they let this run rampant? All it does is ruin the experience for those that would like to play and have a good time with their friends. Come on Microsoft get with the program you can’t be that dense or can you?
*Photo by: Matt Brett

13 Replies to “Party Chat Or Party Cheat?”

  1. You’ve obviously never played in a room with girls. Party chat is a fantastic way to have a pleasant gaming experience without having to deal with trolls hitting on you or being generally obnoxious. Not having tram communication during deaths isn’t relevant to professional gaming either. Tournaments are held LAN style where you can turn to your teammate and tell them where you were killed from. Additionally if you’ve been communicating your position and listening to your teammates’ positions you should know the area they went down in.
    Party chat is an amazing way to keep younger players safe (ie if I’m playing with my young cousins across the country – you run into trolls even on g rated games like UNO) as well as enabling a pleasant gaming experience for demographics that are typically harassed on xbl.
    Party chat enhances the gaming experience with friends as opposed to taking away from it like you claim.

  2. Well my spin on that situation is the use of mute. If you have an annoying player just mute the person done deal. Party chat is used primarily for cheating. I see your point but they really should design it so that you have a choice to only play with non-party chatter.

  3. Try being a girl, you’d have to mute half the room. Your point of view is interesting I guess, but there are better things to bitch about. I love party chat, it’s a great feature.
    And about cheating, it’s been around before party chat, and won’t go away. I really don’t think party chat is to blame, I play multiplayers EXTENSIVELY online.
    And also, those 180’s people pull on you; it’s from playing intelligently. Just cause you’re “invisible” doesn’t mean your enemy can’t predict your movements. 😉

  4. I’m going to reiterate my point of you having never played with a girl or two. There’s always more than one “annoying” player in lobbies and I shouldn’t have to take time away from my game to go into the menu to mute the people lashing out with the verbal abuse.
    If you want to actually see the value of party chat, I invite you to join my girlfriends and I for a few rounds of Halo3. You’ll suddenly discover the wonders of Party Chat.
    Party Chat also is not primarily used for cheating. I challenge you to show me the stats that support that statement. I’m willing to stake my entire reputation, experience, and name on the fact that you have made that assumption and are trying to pass off your assumption as fact.

  5. The invitation goes out to you as well to join me and my friends who play Call of Duty:WAW nightly for hours at a time. Maybe it is not as bad in Halo, but play just a couple of rounds with a team that is in Party Chat and you will quickly realize our frustration. These comments are also coming from good players that have very good rankings. Were not looking for excuses when we lose we know exactly why we lose particular matches and it hinges on Party Chatting 80% of the time.
    My Xbox Live Gamertag is ‘PC Doc’ if you would like to take us up on that offer.

  6. So your trying to blame losing matches on party chat.
    When really the people that are in Party Chat are playing the game exactly as it would happen in a tournament LAN-style. If we were to sit down, play rounds in a tourney- I’d be able to turn to you and tell you where I was killed from. How is this different than party chat?
    If your team is communicating effectively and following strats, your teammates should know where you’ve been killed at and know where the commonly camped areas are.
    I don’t care for W@W at all and hence don’t own it, I play CoD4 primarily. Your more than welcome to come play a few rounds with us to discover one of the main reasons party chat was invented.

  7. Sup, Doc. You know I feel your frustration on this subject cause we play on CoD5 every night and we’ve gamed since our Evil Smurf days on the PC.
    I agree wit the ladies on this cause there are guys on Live, who acted like horny bastards that never get “Any.” So, this is something for them to get away from those guys. I, personally, respect the lady gamers cause there are not part of the ‘norm’ and like to play video games and don’t like to be treated like they do on Live and/or PSN, and like the ladies, people who speak a different language, i.e. spanish, are subject to the bs of people who need to stfu and realize that its racists and are making an arse outta themselfs. So, when I play wit my Puerto Rican friends who live on the island and speak only spanish we are in party chat.
    The party chat has ruinned the Search and Destroy mode on CoD5, IMO. In CoD4, before Party Chat, we u died, you couldn’t tell your friends where you died at and not give your teammates that are still alive “eyes behind their head.” In CoD5, its hell to play S&D because the mode is not being played like it was intended with the “death mute.”
    I agree with both, Doc and the ladies who replied.
    My 2 Cents,
    RiCaN

  8. I see both veiws on this
    understanding being a girl on live can be frustrating with all the guys.
    For many games party chat is fine.
    But for a select few of games, it is a horrible thing, when i play w@w and in a game where dead men tell no tales party chat totatlly defeats the purpose of the game.I think jon is right,you should be able to have the option to play in a room without party chat.

  9. ok see i understand where both sides are coming from ,but i love party chat.it gives you a lil privacy and i’m a girl and have the same problem with horny guy’s who probably never had any lol.for me people in chat part doesn’t bother me cause once i killed you i’m gone.i never stay at one place you gotta move the hole time for that reason and i like it it’s a challenge.the only time party chat bothers me is when i play the zombie game in COD World at war

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